Researcher Alice Marwick on how misinformation affects communities during disasters like Helene

Over a week has passed since Hurricane Helene shrouded western North Carolina in a deluge of rain leaving destruction in its wake. Since then communities throughout the area have been trudging through debris and muck as they embark on the long road to recovery.

The storm and widespread communications disruptions led to an information gap. And this helped foster an environment where falsehoods could thrive.

WFDD's DJ Simmons recently spoke with Alice Marwick, the director of research at Data & Society, a nonprofit focused on technology policy about misinformation, how it spreads and its influence in a time of crisis in North Carolina.

Interview Highlights

On how the role misinformation has played in major events has evolved:

"I think what's happened is that a lot of places where we used to be able to go to find trusted information have sort of scaled back their content moderation effort, and that's made it even more difficult to tell what's true and what's false. The other big change is there are a lot of news outlets that are explicitly partisan, and so when they're writing stories, they're really writing them with a particular partisan perspective."

On whether local officials can be as susceptible to misinformation as others:

"I think most public officials are doing their best in a terrible situation. There are times where local officials will amplify false claims just because they're often depending on the same information that everybody else is. But I think for the most part, local officials are trying their best. I think when we get into difficulties is when you have people who are not in the Southeast, who are using this difficult environment for political gain."

On good practices for spotting misinformation:

"I would say in general don't share things unless you're absolutely sure that it's correct. And if you're seeing something, you know, think about if you can find a few other sources that say the same thing."